This Side of Paradise
by Zouboss
Summary: Through all the trauma and hardship Historia went through, there was also the good. Leading up to her death, the blonde reflects on what happened in her situation. When she finally dies, Historia unexpectedly sees the person she had missed for so many years. SPOILERS FOR ATTACK ON TITAN MANGA UP TO CH115 (AU-ISH) YUMIKURI! Ymir x Historia/Krista/Christa! One-Shot!


Animalistic. That's how far his behavior had went these past few months. Up to when he betrayed his own two best friends and went rouge to when Historia had finally given birth to the child of the promised future. His actions raged further and fiercer once the news of the child spread like a fire and reached upon his ears. He never set eyes on her child but she knew from all the reports that she had been told, his mind was filled with the newborn as he continued with his brute nature.

_Eren Yeager._

His vivid green eyes filled her mind and Historia let out a broken gasp. Blood sputtering from her lips.

He was never hers. She yearned for him in a way that was past romantic interest, but at the same time was bothered by the fact. He could never be hers. She would have never wanted him even if the chance came up. Their lives couldn't merge farther than the fragile yet emotional friendship they had between each other. Eren cared for her beyond his own blood. She knew from the moment he defended her in the political discussions that were held after her coronation. Historia felt something more than friendship the moment he complimented her on the fields of the orphanage she bought. The feeling soon diminished once Mikasa had interfered after her blush and his comment. She knew in those seconds, she could never bring herself to do _that _to Mikasa. She respected and loved the friendship that they had formed over the week of conflict between The Scouts, her father and Kenny Ackerman. Mikasa belonged with Eren. Not Historia.

At least that's what the queen thought.

Eren had left a emotional mark on Mikasa and Armin with the final argument they had together. Mikasa's attachment was more of something that had to do with blood than emotion. Mikasa was a _slave_.

She felt extremely _more_ depressed when Armin and Mikasa had traveled to her home and told her personally. She remembered the tears in both the friends' eyes as they finished telling her everything. Historia drew them in both for a hug. Her first physical contact with them that was genuine in the 8 months she had been pregnant.

Historia remembered clearly how Mikasa's hand had slid over her round stomach and gripped her shirt steadily. The look they shared was filled with emotion and Historia knew that the Ackerman was silently vowing to protect the kid once it was born. Historia took this as a sign of Mikasa officially detaching herself from Eren. Though also as a way of still giving herself a purpose.

Historia felt her chest shudder as each breath grew more painful. Her hands flew wildly for a few moments before she gripped the large metal beam that had impaled her. She was too close to the battle. That's why it happened. When all the titan shifters had went to their titan form, she knew hell had officially broke loose. During the battle, debris was thrown and structures were destroyed. Lives were taken and families were torn apart by violence. She could still hear the shifters in the distance.

The war cries. The cannon fire. The gun shots. The sound of blades cutting through flesh of both humans and titans. She had heard these hymns before and now she was hearing them again for one last time.

Historia was left alone. No one noticed her gone. Even if she was a queen. Even after Hanji's command. War was important at the moment. But she didn't blame anyone. She had done it on purpose. She told The Scouts to let her fight in the war and use her body once they found her dead.

"_You gotta be fucking kidding me." Levi growled at her. His face was deeply scarred from the incident with Eren's brother, Zeke. He leaned on a cane, really showing off his age._

_Historia glared back at the short man. "I will kill myself here if you don't let me fight." Even when he was practically a corpse, Levi still had his classic biting attitude. _

_Hanji frowned at her, fixing their glasses. "Is this a decision you really want to make?"_

"_I had Ymir," Historia turned on Hanji with a broken voice. The emotion whelming immediately without warning."That's what you guys wanted. You agreed upon _that_ decision."_

"_Eren and Zeke aren't even here, they betrayed our asses. I knew we couldn't trust that monkey-ass and look what happened! We can't do anything with you!" Levi seemed extremely unstable. Unusual for the man. "You have no idea what you are getting yourself in, kid. Look at what they did to _me_." He pulled up and pants to reveal burned flesh. Raw and angry._

_Historia flinched briefly and then swallowed. "Yes. I. Do."_

_Hanji shook their head and rubbed their neck. Not saying a word. They had fled from the military. They had been hiding out with Historia for awhile now. No one would expect them to be here. At least for a few more hours._

"_I'm your Queen, dammit! This is a command not a offer!"_

_Levi looked ready about to burst on the blond, his eyes swollen with emotion. His remaining fingers, from the explosion that destroyed him, gripped onto the cane._

"_Fine. We will look for you the moment you disappear from sight," Hanji said, scribbling something down on paper. Their expression turned into a seriousness and confliction. "Now, get out. Tomorrow is when we head out, spend the rest of your time with the infant. You will regret it if you don't, Queen."_

_Disbelief covered both Levi's and Historia's features until Historia shot Levi a triumph glare and walked out of the room._

Historia wanted to chuckle as she recalled that memory but her body couldn't muster it. She liked Levi. Even if he was a complete ass most of the time and currently looked like a failed sacrifice. It was really hard to get rid of him. She couldn't, unfortunately, spend much time on that thought as she continued to bleed out. She felt the strength ebbing away as the blood continued to slowly drain out of her.

"_You're fighting with us." Mikasa breathed as she cradled Ymir in her arms. Her expression soft and her gaze loving. Historia wondered if that was how she looked when she stared upon her child. She knew she didn't feel that way and instead felt a storm of negative and positive emotions that clashed with each other._

"_Yes," Historia said, walking forward to stand by Mikasa's side and tilt her head down to look at Ymir. _How does she even share that feature with her? _Historia thought as she reached a hand down and grazed the light freckles that were littered upon the baby's cheeks and nose. They were almost the same as _hers_._

_Mikasa watched this action and then turned to the shorter girl as she withdrew her hand. "How often do you think of her?"_

_Immediately, Historia felt the lump of emotion that formed in her throat. She shook her head slowly. "I try not to," She choked out hoarsely. "B-But all the time." A big thing she appreciated about Mikasa was, after the whole Eren incident, they both could be more honest with each other._

_Ymir suddenly flinched and gapes her mouth to let out a wail. Mikasa swiftly swerved her head back around, her expression like a mother's._

"_Shhh," Mikasa hushed softly, rocking the baby girl into comfort. "Sleep little one…"_

_Mikasa is better off her mother, _Historia thought to herself as she gazed up at the sky. She felt the dark edging at her vision, threatening to take over. _She will love her more than I ever will._

_Ymir._

The name was a haunting to her. It was everywhere. Even after the girl, Historia loved, had fled. The Curse of Ymir. The Goddess Ymir. Ymir. Ymir. Ymir. Ymir.

Fuck, how she loathed and loved that name. So unique. So wicked. So broken. So elegant.

It was funny how Historia never wanted to hear her name after she had left. After the woman had accepted the fact that Ymir would never return. Only to have it said in her face whenever Titan Shifting was involved. Unintentionally or intentionally the name was thrown around her. Everyone thought she didn't mind. But in reality she did. It was like cutting open a healed wound everytime the name was spoken.

Her first friend. The first person to understand her. The only person who Historia could relate to. Her first love. The love that continued on even through her dying breaths.

Historia's heart ached just at the thought of her brown hair and slender figure. She remembered vividly how if you looked deep enough in the brunette's brown eyes, you could see gold flecks. She remembered how if you embarrassed her, she just laughed it off and teased you back. The blond remembered the caring heart that hid behind the rough exterior. How Ymir cared for everyone, even though she claimed she only lived for herself. She remembered all the surge of emotions when the letter Ymir had written had finally reached her. The old tears coming back as she finished reading her death letter. The only thing she owned from Ymir. The only thing that she had that Ymir had touched.

_Oh Ymir…My only regret was not being able to marry you...You idiot. _Historia felt her eyes dampen as she fought the urge to blink. She was weak and slipping out of consciousness. The moment she closed her eyes, she would be lost forever. No longer alive. No longer aware of anything. She would just be gone. Gone and that was it. She wouldn't even see black because she wouldn't be anything anymore. This was the end. Consciousness would be no more and she was dead forever. But as she struggled and grasped onto reality, she also felt something tug her back. Pulling her into the darkness and it suddenly frightened her. The pounding in her heart increasing in a sudden panic. She thought if she was at the brink of death, she would accept it. But she wouldn't. Not anymore. Now she was scared. Who would remember _Ymir _if she died. _She _was a dusty memory in the others' mind compared to how she was fresh in Historia's mind.

It was getting harder and harder to fight though. Darkness was calling. Historia spluttered. The breaths hardly coming now. And she wasn't strong enough to fight this. Too much blood was lost now. It was too late.

Her eyelids grew heavy. Fear ebbing away into sudden peace. The calm washing over her like waves and easing her into death.

The bright blue sky spotted with red was the last sight she saw.

…..

…..

…..

…..

_Rustle. Rustle. Rustle._

…..

…..

…_.._

…_.._

_Rustle. Rustle. Rustle._

What the hell was that?

Historia opened her eyes, no longer a battle and rather easy as if it was any other day she was alive and healthy. She felt a lot more lighter than she had ever felt since the decision of getting pregnant.

Once her eyes adjusted to a bright light, she looked around, surprised. Not shocked. Not confused. Not scared. Just surprised.

She was gazing upon a light orange sky, as if the sun was starting to set. The sky was clear with only a few lazy clouds. Her first reaction was to reach to the side she got impaled.

Instead of a metal beam or blood, she felt her battered soldier outfit that she wore to the battle. There was a large tear where the beam was suppose to be but the gash that was supposed to be there was replaced with her smooth pale skin.

Immediately, she sat up. No aches in her back due to the effort like usual and no struggle. She did it easily and swiftly.

Sitting up, around her was long tall grass that was almost golden. It tickled her nose and threatened to make her sneeze. The grass was swaying as a breeze rippled over in a calming motion.

Historia was on a hill. She could tell as she peered over the grass and looked down at the gradual slope that led to a open field of the same grass.

Her eyebrows furrowed and her hand went to play with the messy bun she wore. Her hair felt softer than usual. It wasn't the same stiff dirty long hair she died with. Her fingers pinched along the strand expecting to go a longer ways, only to be interrupted abruptly. Her hair was….short.

In a quick motion, both her hands came to grab a handful of healthy golden locks and she stared at them in bewilderment. Now she was confused. Her hair was like...when she was younger. Barely past the shoulders.

Historia looked up again, realization and memory flooding into her. She died.

At least she thought she did. She was pretty sure she died.

Historia stood up with a gasp.

The grass met at just above her knees. And at the end of the sea of almost golden grass there was large oak trees with the color of autumn. Red. Orange. Yellow.

_Rustle. Rustle. Rustle._

The Queen swerved around in the direction of the noise. It came from the forest that was roughly a couple of meters away.

"Hello…?" Historia's lips quickly clamped shut at the sound of her voice. It sounded youthful and not battle worn. The voice she owned before all the emotional trauma that happened at Utgard Castle to her father's return and the defeat of him.

She twirled around again, to take in her surroundings again. Autumn. Her favorite season. It never was Spring like she use to tell her 104th Corps Members when she was Krista. It was never Summer despite when her soldiers and friends asked at random during her rule as Queen. It was always Autumn. Autumn. When things started to slowly die and made death look beautiful. The only time the world accepted to be covered in the blanket of death.

How beautiful it was to be in this meadow. She could just fall back down in the long grass and stare at the yellow-orange-red sky.

She hadn't been to a place like this since….well when she was a trainee in the military. When life was actually a lot more simpler. Despite everything, being a cadet was probably the best time in her life. Other than the first year or so of being Queen.

"Historia!"

Despite how distant it sounded, she heard it clearly

Her heart skipped a beat. The blond felt herself stiffen. Like a person dying in a fetal position and their corpse and bones remaining like that until something disturbed it.

Her breath caught in her throat. Emotion wringing itself around her neck and choking her. She couldn't breathe easily now. Everything was now a challenge and her hands went to her side, almost believing this was all a dream. That she was still bleeding out on the battlefield.

"Historia!"

Her voice called out again. It came from behind her. Despite the distance, she could hear it strong and clear. It was the same as if she heard it everyday. Like she was still there and holding her hand on every step of the way. That she was there when she looked into the sky and gave her last breath.

But she wasn't. She never was there during the hardest of her times. Yet, she swarmed in her mind like a fly you couldn't get rid of. Constantly. Always constantly in the shadows. In every tall brunette Historia saw. In every broken memory.

In the child she conceived. In the little girl named after her. The girl who was their future, if Eren didn't fuck it up for them.

The woman broke. The tears came down. Warm. Warm as they slid down her cheeks.

A fist clenched at her side. One at her chest. Where her heart was beating crazy. She was scared. She was shaking. She was sad. Historia didn't want to believe it. She didn't want to turn around. It had been too long.

Too many nights where she cried and cried for the person who would never come back. Too many days where she went mad because she couldn't take anymore. Too many days where she had shoved her emotions down and act like she was fine. Too many days where her thoughts festered and destroyed.

Historia took a deep breath and braced herself.

She turned around ever so slowly.

And once she turned towards the direction the forbidden voice came from. Her eyes were closed.

She wanted her to be there. And for once, since she awoke in this unknown land, her heart was dipped in fear.

Her fist clenched harder till her knuckles were white.

Historia bit her lip. She wanted to be transparent now. The blond wanted to disappear.

Each heartbeat ached. Familiar and new at the same time. One a yearn. Two a fear. Three a loss.

She opened her eyes.

And more tears came down.

Her vision blurry. A smeared image was all she saw and for a moment she was terrified to see through the filter.

She swiped them away and looked again to make sure this wasn't a trick. That this wasn't a dream and she wouldn't wake back up just at the best part.

She stood there. Her tall figure in the middle of the field of grass. Below the hill in the center. Historia could just make out her desperate expression. Her brown eyes were staring her way. Her lips were pressed together. Her eyebrows were knitted together in concentration. Straining to see in the distance. She was there.

She was..._there_.

Her heart flipped.

She wished and hoped with every fiber of her being that this wasn't a dream.

"Ymir…" Historia whispered. Broken and raspy. Her heart pounded even faster. Her body shuddered. She called out again, this time raw with all the emotion she had stacked up since their departure. "Ymir!"

The look on her face. How it brightened up and a rare genuine smile painted it. A smile that only she ever got to witness. It was hers. Not anyone else's.

"Historia!"

That voice.

After so many nights of heartbreak. She was finally rewarded the gift of her sound. A forbidden song finally acquired from enough weightful tears.

"Ymir!"

Heavy tears.

The blond raced down the hill, the water in her eyes flying away at the speed she was going. Falling away from her youthful face and trickling down blades of grass to finally sink down into the rich soil.

Ymir came after her.

Historia had never run this fast. It was faster than the days of her fleeing from Titans. More swift than the days of muscle killing training.

Her body pulsed with meaning.

With a few more sprints she could feel her again. In a few steps she could press against her.

A few more...

They both met at the bottom of the hill.

Historia launched towards Ymir, the brunette had her arms wide open to catch her. Always only opened for her.

They both tumbled down into the soft grass. Ymir's arms wrapping around her and squeezing her close. Strong and gentle. Stern but caring.

Historia hugged her back. Her face nuzzling into the crook of her neck. Wiping the warm tears off her beautiful skin. She could smell her. A scent she missed and phantomed every night. Her face digged deeper. To feel the skin of her lover. It was there. She felt it. It was warm and soft. She was here. Physically. This wasn't a trick. She could actually feel her after all these years. _After all these years_. How it was just a relief to actually touch her after everything. After everything that happened.

The tears came faster. Gushing out stronger than anything she had been through before. She was here. She was here. She was here. _You are here. _The pain she had went through. The longing. The loneliness. She left her to this. She put her through this. It was her fault. _She put her through torment. You left me._

"Ow!" Ymir yelped as the arms of Historia's unwrapped themselves and her hands shifted to a fist. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Ymir continued on as punches landed on her body with the strength of as much as the Queen could muster.

"You. Left. Me." Historia breathed out through tears and she drew back and continued to pummel Ymir's body with all her power. "You left _me_. You left _me_! You left _me_! You left _me_! You...left..._me…_" Historia broke out as her abuse weakened and she started to shrivel down. "I thought you loved me…."

Ymir's arms drew Historia back into her embrace and she pulled the smaller girl as close as she could. Slender fingers ran through her blond hair as she whispered thickly, "I _do _love you."

As Historia cried into her shoulder, as pain clenched her heart, she still believed her. After everything. After the abandonment. After her years of pain. She trusted her word.

"You didn't have to…" Historia replied horasely, her lips pressed against the fabric that kept her away from Ymir's skin. "Things would have been so different…"

"I know," Ymir's voice was faint as she clenched her lost lover even closer. "I know."

Historia gripped her shirt weakly, the side of her face rubbing against her neck as her chin rested itself on her shoulder. "We would of been ha-...happy together. Everyday we could have woken up together. We would have almost been inseparable..."

Ymir stayed silent. Historia didn't have to look at her to know the brunette was lost in emotion. That her brown eyes were shining in the most unimaginable pain of regret. The blond continued on sorrowfully, saying aloud the things she used to imagine late at night in the castle she lived in.

"Every morning, we could have ate together. After every meeting we would've went to the orphanage. The orphans could have been _our _kids. _Our own family. _B-Both of us, together, could have given them what we never had as children. We would have played games all day. Eat with them. Tell them fairy tales. Feed their imagination and give them the best we could give so they could f-feel like a _someone_. And everyday before we left….we would wish them goodnight with the biggest hugs we could manage. Because having affection as a kid means everything and it keeps them going, Ymir. We could have went to bed together and do it all over again. And some days it could of only been us. We could have hung out together like when we were young…"

Historia felt her shirt become damp. Each drop fell gradually, coming down faster and heavier as each second went by. As each word left her lips in a hopeless breath.

A soft gasp was the reply. "Y-yeah….I know, sweetheart, I know."

"_Why_, Ymir?" The blond asked brokenly to her lost lover. "W-why? Why? Why? Why…" She gave up her power to _them_. To Reiner's people. The people that Eren betrayed his friends and comrades for. If he did betray them. It was so hard to know what was going on through his mind anymore. Ymir helped their enemies either way.

"I had a debt to pay…" Ymir started. Historia could feel one of her knuckles rubbing against the nape of her neck. "I knew Eren could protect you."

To the moment Historia died, Eren had never harmed her. But he harmed his closest friends and comrades.

Historia withdrew her head from Ymir's shoulder and met her gold eyes. As she stared closely, she could see the gold flecks that littered the brown of her eyes. They were watery, the same like Historia's.

"A lot happened." Historia told her.

Ymir pressed her lips together. The brunette lifted a hand and caressed the blond's cheek. "I know." Her neck muscles flexed for a moment to swallow. "Your….situation didn't turn out as I expected." Her deep brown eyes drifted away. The frown that creased on Ymir's face showed a genuine upset. It wasn't the frown she usually feigned around their comrades. Back in their cadet days, Ymir did her best to avoid showing even the slightest interest in anyone other than herself and Historia. She remembered even despite the freckled brunette's efforts, people still managed to slither through. Even if they didn't make it all the way to meet the actual Ymir, a few managed to see a peek of her true nature. When Connie and Sasha got punished for their antics, instead of a sadistic smile, Ymir would show the smallest hints of concern by sneaking them water. Even with her cruel words, Connie and Sasha understood the genuinity. When Bertholdt had some of her nervous breakdowns back in their cadet days, Ymir would be there to comfort him in her own unique way.

Historia moved a hand to take Ymir's own. Her fingers intertwined with the former titan shifter and Historia's blue orbs quivered with a surge of emotion. "I...it had to be done." She explained quietly.

Ymir met the queen's gaze and held it. "But you were unhappy."

"Ymir, I was always unhappy."

She watched as she flinched. The brunette weakened and her head hung low shamefully. Ymir vividly had a burden of her own. It was unexpected. Everything in all honesty. It was the heat of the moment. They both knew. There was never time to even consider. It was an impulsive urge. Ymir hadn't felt the consequences until she laid on that wall. When the tears finally came and her facade broke right in front of Reiner and Bertholdt. When she realized what she had just done.

"I wouldn't have woken up if they hadn't went to break that damn wall down," Ymir squeezed Historia's hand tightly. Historia could only imagine what she was reliving as she made those memories resurface. "I had to return what I had borrowed. I was on a limit either way. Might as well give up what I had left to them." Her forehead went to press on the blonde's shoulder. "It was a nightmare, I had no freedom. I only woke up because of those foolish bastards. I took what was theirs and was given another chance."

"You thanked them by returning the freedom they had given you." Historia breathed as she looked at the grass they sat on.

"If I hadn't came with them, they wouldn't have been able to go back home."

"A lot would have been different." Historia knew when the battle to reclaim the Shiganshina District, when the Survey Corps lost Erwin, when Armin died and came back alive by requiring the Colossal titan and killing Bertholdt, when Reiner was captured for the slightest of moments and was able to give Hanji _her _letter, Ymir was already dead.

"We're dead."

Ymir brought a hand to the rest on Historia's shoulder. "We're dead." She confirmed.

Historia closed her eyes and took a breath. Her child would be in Mikasa's care. If the Ackerman even survived the chaotic war the queen had died in.

"She'll be safe." Because even if Historia lacked in feeling motherly love, she still cared enough on whether or not that child would be safe. A part of her said Eren would probably manage that task. If everything worked out how he wanted it. How did he want it? Would it mean slaughtering his friends and comrades to get what he wants? Or was he double crossing?

"Hey," She felt Ymir's fingers lift her chin and Historia opened her eyes to stare into those gold orbs. "She will be safe." Ymir echoed Historia's statement.

"Have you seen her?" She asked quietly. There was a way for Ymir to see her, right? If the brunette was aware of what went on, then it was a definitely, right?

Ymir only nodded in reply without any words. Inside, Historia felt what she could of said. _It's complicated. _That was the summary of it. Ymir had no connection with the child other than the same name they shared. Or the freckles. That part Historia could only hope.

Historia shifted and stood up. She rubbed at her eyes. It was a lot. There was a lot. Ymir lifted herself up too, her hand quickly going to hold Historia's once more. Out of everything, hand holding was the most they ever did. When they were both cadets, it was always something that went unmentioned between them. Something they always did when no one was looking and something they never discussed. Silently they understood though. Even if the two youths hadn't explicitly known each other's past, it was almost as they knew deep down, they were both orphans that nobody loved. Both who had a hard time expressing genuine affection to another human due to the lack they got as a child. Two bastards of the world then. Eventually one bastard died to be forgotten while the other grew up to be remembered till the end of humanity.

What a world they had lived in.

"Where is everyone else?" Historia asked as she slowly started to list every cadet she trained with that died. There was lot. And a good amount, she was friends with. Her heart skipped for a moment. Was Frieda here?

"You will see them soon."

"Everyone?"

"Everyone who deserved to be here."

"Is….my sister here?"

Ymir nodded slowly, looking towards the woods. A small breeze blew, lifting both the girls' hair in a ghostly manner. The brunette started to lead the blonde towards the trees. Historia followed without question. "She's been waiting to see you again."

"You talked to her?"

"Of course I did," Ymir gave the smallest of smirks. "She's your sister."

"It's confusing."

"What is, sweetheart?"

"Frieda's memories are with Eren. That means your memories are with who ever has the Jaw Titan. Doesn't that mean you live on in the next holder?"

Ymir knitted her brows together. "Yeah, it's...weird. I talked about it with Frieda and Bertholdt."

"Bertholdt's here?"

Ymir gave a dry chuckle. "All he did is what he believed was right. His mind was fucked after a while. With Reiner playing different personas, it didn't help."

Historia glanced down and then around the field. "Do you think Reiner will come here?"

"I don't know…." Ymir replied honestly. "But even if he doesn't come, there is still the others. Mina's here, Thomas, Marco, Hannah, Franz. Even Levi's former Squad is here. There's a lot of us."

"What about Sasha?"

"Pfft, Potato Girl? Of course she is here. Let me tell you, she did not leave me alone the first couple of days she came here. Kept following me around like a homeless puppy," Ymir rolled her eyes good humoredly. "She's excited to see you too."

Historia smiled warmly, tightening her hold. Each step was taking them closer to the woods. To her friends. But despite the glow that was inside her, she couldn't help but wonder.

"Ymir, where are we?"

Ymir froze in her tracks and looked down at the shorter girl. "Well," She took a moment to think about it, her lips pressed tightly together. Then she responded. "It doesn't matter what you believe, because you end up here. I didn't even believe in an afterlife and yet here I am."

"I denied the belief of god when my father told me about him," Historia mused. "This can't be heaven."

"You're right," Ymir agreed. "But this isn't hell or purgatory or whatever religious bullshit the world has come up with." There was a sourness in her tone that only Historia could understand. An orphan who was raised by a extremely religious cult only to be betrayed by them could only speak like that. At least in Historia's opinion.

The blonde tilted her head with slight amusement. "So you guys never really questioned this place?"

"No," Ymir scoffed. "Everyone wondered where they were when we first arrived. And after adjusting here, it is really hard to explain what this place is. It's surreal. I mean...I don't think we are even real. We were once real and now….we are just here."

Historia thought back to the childhood books she read as a child. She thought about all the places there was in the fictional books. About the little girl who had a journey in Wonderland. Or the boy who played in the clouds with the giants.

"It's pretty peaceful here actually," Ymir explained. "It's my first time crying here since I arrived." The brunette laughed softly with a faint blush and used her free hand to scratch her cheek. "We're content here. That's really all I can say."

"I got a name," Historia said, a little too excitedly. For a moment it shocked her. She almost seemed like Krista there for a moment. She had been so serious the last couple of years that it seemed unnatural. "I...I have a name."

Ymir raised an eyebrow, clearly not missing what just happened. She squeezed her lover's hand in reassurance. "Don't worry," Ymir comforted softly. "This place...well...we look and act a lot like the most happiest times in our lives."

"So that explains my hair," Historia muttered. Her Cadet days were definitely her most happiest, even if she was never truly herself. "But I can still control myself, right?"

Ymir gave a smirk. "It's only fair that you have that capability. You're still Historia. I know _you_ never wanna be Krista again. _I _don't want you to be Krista again. _This _place knows that too."

"So," Ymir continued. "What would you call this place?"

Historia paused for moment. To think. Her life was a mess. There were good moments as well as bad. She was hated as a child. She took another identity and for a few years was wrapped in a false persona. Fell in love. Suffered heartbreak. Lived by her lover's request. Killed her father. Took her actual name. Became Queen. Broke her lover's request. Had a child mostly against her will. Then she died. That was the brief summary of her life. And in reward from everything, she reunited with the person she loved and cried for, for many nights. Many of her friends died while she was alive and then, Historia died while many of her other friends were alive. She left behind a child that she could only hope for its safety. That was also the cost of seeing Ymir again. Was it worth it? She didn't know. But in the end, she ended up with her long lost lover in a place with many old friends, where everyone was happy and content and no one had to live in fear of a giant humanoid beast consuming them and their loved ones. So there was only word she could describe this place where she would live for who knows how long.

"Paradise."


End file.
